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Germany: #Blockupy Protests Against Pan-European Austerity

Sara Moreira — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:16:32 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis

‘Blockupy‘ protests against “the widespread impoverishment and denial of democratic rights occurring in the Eurozone as part of a global systemic crisis” shook the financial epicenter of Europe - Frankfurt - last week.

Following the global action days on 12 and 15 May, 2012, (12M and 15M), activists from across Europe were called to converge in Frankfurt in an international solidarity demonstration. The ultimate goal was to blockade the European Central Bank (ECB) and other crucial global capitalism institutions. On May 4, however, the Frankfurt Municipal Department for Public Order announced that all actions planned were deemed illegal, except for a rally on Saturday, May 19.

Occupy Frankfurt in front of ECB. Photo shared by Roarmag.org (copyleft).

Still, thousands of activists decided to take a stand against the ban and claim the constitutional right “of unarmed assembly, without either prior registration or permission”.

While international mainstream media didn't give much attention to the events, online social networks buzzed with citizen reports on the mobilizations that occurred under massive police presence and repression.

On Twitter many videos and photos were shared under the hashtag #Blockupy. Netizens and collectives from different countries, such as Occupy Brussels and Belgium, livestreamed the protests, marches and assemblies, as well as the cultural program and diverse debates on labor, ecology, economy among others.

“Demonstrate for the right to demonstrate”

Blockupy started on the same day that newly elected French President Hollande met Chancellor Merkel [fr] in Berlin, May 16. Meanwhile in Frankfurt, the police complied with the order of eviction of the seven month long Occupy Frankfurt settlement around the Euro sign near the ECB headquarters. The blog Critical Legal Thinking, which had a comprehensive coverage of the four days of protest, described the city as “effectively in [undeclared] State of Exception“.

Police intercept three Berlin buses on the way to #Frankfurt. Photo by @Blockupy on Twitter.

On May 17, a bank holiday, as mainstream media directed the spotlight to the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble - who was awarded the Charlemagne Prize for his major role in the definition of the austerity policies mostly imposed on the periphery European countries - buses filled with activists from different cities heading to the anti-austerity demonstration in the center of Frankfurt, were stopped from entering the city and escorted back by the police.

Despite the attempts of intimidation, around 2,000 activists managed, at least for a few hours, to occupy the historic Roemerberg square where the city hall is based, and which represents the birth of democracy in Germany.

Blockupy protesters take action against banking and finance system. Photo by Patrick Gerhard Stoesser, copyright Demotix (May 17, 2012).

The square was soon surrounded by the riot police:

Protesters sit down and lock arms in opposition to police presence. Photo by Patrick Gerhard Soesser, copyright Demotix (May 17, 2012).

At the end of the day riot police evicted the square with violence, as different photo reporters [de] illustrated:

A protester is detained by police. Photo by Patrick Gerhard Stoesser, copyright Demotix (May 17, 2012).

The detention of at least 400 protesters of different nationalities triggered solidarity protests in different cities across Europe:

Embassy of Germany in Rome - Protest against repression and arrests in Frankfurt during the protests against the crisis. Signs against the Rome-Berlin axis, the ECB and Merkel. Photo by Simona Granati, copyright Demotix (May 18, 2012).

A video report by Finnish user of YouTube sydansalama1, with interviews subtitled in English, sums up the events of the day:

The staff of banks were told by their employees to take the day off or work from home to avoid having to come into the city on Friday, May 18 - the day when the blockade to the financial district was expected to take place. However, as Jerome Ross from Roar Magazine wrote the night before, “Frankfurt [is] on lock-down as over 5,000 police [are] deployed in an unprecedented operation to keep protesters out of the city and away from the banks”:

as the activists here prepare to physically block the headquarters of the European Central Bank, the police already seems to have done the job for them.

"I block! You too?" Photo by ateneinrivolta on Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0).

That day, international mainstream media reported on Goldman Sachs being hired by the Spanish government to evaluate banking conglomerate Bankia, taken over by the state earlier in May, and also about rumors of a referendum in Greece to ballot the membership in the Eurozone. In Frankfurt, while banners read messages of support to the European southern countries (such as “We are all Greeks“), the city remained “affected by massive police presence, identity checks and road blocks“.

When the legal day for protesting finally arrived, May 19, around 20,000 protesters (according to the police, or more than 25,000 according to the organization) rallied the city center.

Blockupy Demonstration in Frankfurt. A large banner held up by protesters reads: 'International resistance against the Austerity Imposed by the Troika and Governments.'. Photo by Michele Lapini copyright Demotix (May 19, 2012).

Blockupy Frankfurt: More than 20,000 against financial crisis politics. International participants in the demonstration. Photo by Patrick Gerhard Stoesser copyright Demotix (May 19, 2012).

Blockupy demo (May 19, 2012). Photo by strassenstriche.net on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).

John Halloway, writing for the Guardian, described Blockupy as “a glimmer of hope in times of austerity“, and argued that it would bring momentum to “explosions of creative anger that will follow”. International policy analyst Vinay Gupta, finalizes:

Those people in the streets rioting, the protesting classes, are fighting not for internal political change within their own countries, but (whether they know it or not) for a re-arrangement of the political balance of an entire continent.

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.

Russia: NHL Stars Return to 2012 World Hockey Championship

Donna Welles — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:31:46 +0000

Undefeated after seven games, and boasting an All-Star lineup of Evgeni Malkin, Pavel Datsyuk, Alexander Semin, and Alexander Ovechkin, the Russian national team will face Norway in the quarterfinal round of the 2012 World Ice Hockey Championship, tomorrow on May 17.

The 2012 World Ice Hockey Championship is being held in Stockholm and Helsinki. Both cities hosted tournaments during the preliminary round, where eight teams competed for the four slots advancing to the single-elimination quarterfinals. Helsinki's group consisted of: Belarus, Canada, Finland, France, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the U.S., while Stockholm's had: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Russia, and Sweden.

Russia started the tournament on Saturday, May 5, with a 5-2 victory over Latvia, before going on to beat Norway 4-2 on Sunday, Germany 2-0 on Tuesday, and Denmark 3-1 on Thursday.

Russia's Emotional 7-3 Victory Over Sweden

Dmitry Mikhaylov announced in his bilinguial blog how the Russian team came from behind to beat the host country on Friday, May 11.

STOCKHOLM – In a highly anticipated match-up, Russia and Sweden met tonight at the Globe Arena in an emotional battle of undefeated teams at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Down 3-1, Russia scored six unanswered goals to win 7-3.

In response to this highly emotional victory, both the mainstream and citizen media outlets of the Russian Internet devoted dramatically increased coverage to the tournament.

Bloggers Respond to Russia's 2-0 Victory Over the Czech Republic

Planet's Sporting World discussed [ru] how, although Russia scored after only 24 seconds of play, the Czech Republic dominated much of the game, but could not capitalize. NHL Pittsburgh Penguins player Evgeni Malkin scored for Russia in the third period, before he and two of his teammates — Pavel Datsyuk and Milan Mikhalek — were charged with minor penalties.

As is often the case when mainstream outlets build attention on an event, many Russian bloggers quoted their reportage, as a way of spreading popular analyses. Ruslan's News reposted [ru] a quote from Evgeni Malkin, taken from a Vesti article:

Тяжело всё выполнить. Но, конечно, здорово сыграли. И в обороне пять минут выстояли в третьем периоде. Это, наверное, дало всплеск эмоций, и после этого мы забили быстрый гол.

It's difficult to accomplish everything. But, of course, we played great. And our defense held out for five minutes in the third period. This, probably, generated a lot of emotion, and afterwards we scored a quick goal.

News Spreads of the Return of Alexander Ovechkin & Alexander Semin

Similarly, news of the return of Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin from the NHL, following the Washington Capitals' 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers, spread rapidly in both mainstream and citizen media outlets. (Evgeni Malkin's Pittsburgh Penguins and Pavel Datsyuk's Detriot Red Wings were eliminated even earlier, in the previous round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.)

Alexander Semin scores the first goal in the World Ice Hockey Championship final, 18 May 2008, photo by Alexey Chernyadyev, CC BY-SA 3.0; Wikimedia Commons.

Most bloggers framed the story as a homecoming for Ovechkin and Semin, while some Twitter users indicated their familiarity with mainstream journalism, such as Sport.rbc and Lenta.ru.

Lisbeth Armel:

Прочитала, что овечкин любит хип-хоп и r'n'b. представила. 5 минут сидела с фейспалмом.

I read that Ovechkin likes Hip Hop and R&B. I sat down and thought about it. For five minutes I just facepalmed.

Sanya Belovka:

Овечкина и Семина Ждем с нетерпением….В россии….2-1 Вашингтон домои)!!!А Овечкин В ШВЕЦИЮ!!!!

We're anxiously waiting for Ovechkin and Semin….[to be] in Russia [again]…..[He lost] 2-1 to Washington, and now he's homeward-bound.) !!! But [it turns out] Ovechkin is headed for Sweden!!!!

Ilgiz Taipov:

Приезд Овечкина и Семина по разному комментируют, кто то вспоминает его прошлогоднюю игру за сборную, и пишут типа зачем он нужен и т.п.. Надо уметь использовать потенциал этого игрока, а мы то знаем что он может играть, что потенциал у него огромный. Семин тоже хороший игрок, то что с Вашингтонгом Кэпиталз случилось это чисто тренерский просчет.

People are saying different things about the arrival of Ovechkin and Semin. Some recall how [Ovechkin] played [poorly] for last year's national team, and wonder why we need him, etcetera. We have to be able to use this player's potential, and we know that he can play — that he has enormous potential. Semin is also a good player, and what happened with the Washington Capitals was purely an issue with the coach.

Armenia: Straight to the village

Onnik Krikorian — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:38:07 +0000

With a GDP per capita estimated at just $5,400 in 2011, Armenia is one of the poorest countries in the former Soviet Union. But although development in the center of the country's capital, Yerevan, might paint a different picture for some tourists, especially from its large Diaspora, the economic situation is most evident in the regions of the landlocked South Caucasus country.

With regional development increasingly a priority in Armenia, online site CivilNet has teamed up with Timothy Straight, one of Armenia's few non-Armenian foreigners who have made the country their home. Traveling to a different village each week, the former head of the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Honorary Consul for Norway and Finland, hopes to change all that.

“What we're trying to do is gather information and spread it, so that people can get correct understanding of what village life in Armenia is like,” explains the text accompanying a promotional video for Թիմը գնում է գյուղ (Tim goes to the village), otherwise known as Straight to the village.

The first episode went online on 20 September last year and takes a look at two villages close to the border with Turkey whose income is based on fruit production.

In the latest installment uploaded to YouTube on 2 April, and subtitled in English and Armenian, Straight travels to the impoverished town of Vardenis close to Armenia's Lake Sevan. The purpose of the visit is to meet with a local NGO working with disabled children.

On 12 March, the program celebrated its 20th episode with an interview with Straight where he “talks about some of the highlights and explains the reason why he does the program and the potential long-term effect of the show.”

Knighted by the King of Norway in 2010, Straight's involvement in regional development in Armenia is not limited to the video reports. Homeland Handicrafts, for example, is a voluntary organization dedicated to creating a sustainable income for artisans in Armenia.

Particularly using online tools, a blog as well as Facebook and Pinterest pages are also used to promote the initiative. Timothy Straight can also be followed on Twitter at @timothystraight.

Europe: Will ACTA Treaty Pass After Protests?

Danielle Martineau — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:09:08 +0000

[All links forward to French articles unless stated otherwise.]

As of the end of the month of February 2012, the mobilization efforts of Internet users against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) [en] were still going strong. In fact, they may have begun to bear fruit.

By including infringements against the author's rights in its scope, this international treaty, which addresses intellectual property rights, also affects Internet content.

The ratification debates which were placed on the European Parliament's agenda on February 29, were put on hold in expectation of the opinion of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The issue of the treaty's conformity with European Community law was brought before the court on 22 February by the European Commission.

No ACTA - Strasbourg. Photo by Christophe Kaiser on Flickr, CC-license-BY

Taurillon, the “magazine of young Europeans -France” describes “Europe's about-face on ACTA“:

Si l’avis est négatif, l’ACTA n’a plus aucune chance en Europe. Mais en cas d’avis positif, le recours à la CJUE représente le double avantage de redonner au traité une certaine crédibilité, et de repousser son adoption à une époque suffisamment lointaine pour que la polémique se soit tassée et que l’opinion publique regarde ailleurs.

If the opinion is negative, ACTA no longer stands a chance in Europe. However, if there is a positive opinion, appealing to the ECJ would mean a double advantage by giving the treaty a certain credibility, and also pushing back implementation to a time that is far enough away when public debate has settled down and the public's attention is focused elsewhere.

Jérémie Zimmermann, co-founder and spokesperson for la Quadrature du Net urges on the European deputies:

Les eurodéputés doivent résister à la stratégie de la Commission européenne, qui cherche à gagner du temps et à transformer le débat en une simple discussion juridique, et pour cela continuer à travailler au rejet d’ACTA. ACTA vise à imposer une tendance pour une politique globale du droit d’auteur qui est toxique pour l’Internet libre et pour les libertés. Le Parlement européen est le dernier rempart : il doit agir et adopter une position claire et forte, faute de quoi il laissera le champ libre à la Commission pour imposer une répression inacceptable.

The Eurodeputies must resist the European Commission's strategy of attempting to gain time and turning the debate into a simple legal discussion, thereby continuing to work towards ACTA's rejection. ACTA aims to impose a tendency for a global policy of author's rights that is toxic for the free Internet and for freedom. The European Parliament is the last line of defense: it must act and adopt a firm and clear position, otherwise it will leave the field wide open for the commission to impose an unacceptable repression.

For trucbuntu, there is no question of remaining passive while waiting for the Court to adjudicate:

Les citoyens de toute l’Europe peuvent contacter leurs représentants dans les commissions Commerce International (INTA) et Industrie (ITRE), qui se réunissent cette semaine pour discuter d’ACTA, et leur demander de continuer à travailler au sein de leur commission pour le rejet d’ACTA.

Citizens of all of Europe were able to contact their representatives in the International Trade (INTA) and Industry (ITRE) Committees, who met on February 29 to discuss ACTA. Many citizens requested their representatives to reject the proposal.

The website of the European Parliament explains the procedure and the issues of the treaty [en] that are under scrutiny, and has published ‘What you should know about ACTA‘ [en], a page of questions and answers. The ACTA workshop of the European Parliament has been the object of a storify [en] made by the Parliamentary services (link via Global Voices contributor Asteris Masouras [en]).

The organization AVAAZ submitted a petition to the European Parliament on 29 February with 2.4 million signatures against ACTA. The petition is still open:

Nous sommes vraiment proches de la victoire — notre pétition forte de 2,4 millions de signatures a ébranlé les responsables politiques partout en Europe et stoppé les censeurs. La Commission européenne est à présent en position de faiblesse et espère que la Cour de justice donnera son feu vert au traité ACTA en lui soumettant une question juridique très limitée qui recevra certainement une réponse positive.Mais si nous faisons résonner nos voix aujourd'hui, nous pouvons faire en sorte que la Cour examine tous les impacts légaux du traité ACTA et publie un avis qui fera toute la lumière sur cette attaque contre nos droits qu'est ACTA.

We are really close to victory — our petition, with 2.4 million signatures has shaken up those politicians in charge throughout Europe and stopped their censors. The European Commission is currently in a position of weakness and is hoping the Court of justice will green light the ACTA treaty by bringing before the court a very limited legal question, that will without doubt receive a positive response. But if we make our voices heard today, we will be able to get the court to examine all the legal implications of ACTA and publish an opinion that will bring to light the real attack against our rights that is ACTA.

No ACTA - Strasbourg. Photo Christophe Kaiser on Flickr, CC-license-BY

Anti-ACTA parties continue to strengthen their resources. New protests were set for 10 March, and torrentnews gives a list, with this appeal:

La liste n’est pas exhaustive, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter pour la compléter ;)

si certains se sentent l’âme d’un reporter- photographe en herbe, nous recherchons également des personnes pour faire un petit article photo du déroulement de la manif, rien de bien compliqué, comme fait ici pour Nice, Marseille,Bordeaux et Strasbourg.

The list is not exhaustive, do not hesitate to contact us to complete it ;)

If any individuals see themselves as budding photojournalists we are also looking for people to do a small photo story on how the protest unfolds, nothing too complicated, as it happens in Nice, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Strasbourg.

For details on the elements of the debate, see also these linked articles from the Tribune on February 29, and Myeurop, on March 3. On Global Voices, see the laws SOPA/PIPA that set a precedent in the USA, here [en] and here [en]. Since the beginning of the protests, ACTA seems to have lost a lot of political momentum.

The title of this post is inspired by the end of the article “La liberté sur Internet : le filtrage de la discorde” which was published by the Institute of Research and Legal and Information studies and Communication (I.R.E.D.I.C.). It puts into perspective Internet blocking and debates the adoption of ACTA.

The original article in French was published on March 4. For background on the ACTA proposal, more articles can be found here [en].

Russia: Foreign Ministry Critique of Human Rights Violations

Vilhelm Konnander — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:04:32 +0000

Finrosforum argues against a report from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which criticizes neighbouring countries for human rights violations.

Video: Plural+ 2011 Awards Young Filmmakers

Juliana Rincón Parra — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:17:36 +0000

Youth from around the globe were awarded in New York for their thought-provoking short films showing their proposals for making society more peaceful and multicultural by addressing the topics of diversity, migration and social inclusion.

Multicolor handprints on white cloth. Image by Flickr user John-Morgan (CC BY 2.0).

The Plural + Youth Video Festival set out to recognize youth as powerful agents of social change; in the Awards Ceremony they commended young filmmakers for their winning efforts.

Let's see some of the winning videos: GIFT was created by Pang Jia Wei, Ryan Tan Chuan Min and the Tunku Abdul Rahman College in Malaysia and the video won in the 18-25 year old category. In it, we can see and hear how it takes diversity to build a nation.

The New Portuguese is a short documentary on immigrants in Portugal: whether they are immigrating to the capital city of Lisbon from their hometowns or whether their parents moved to Portugal where they were born, they all struggle for acceptance and a place in the city and country they call home.

Wish is a short film about families in China. It tells the story of a boy living with his grandfather while his parents work in a far away city, and how doing what is economically best for a child may turn out to be more challenging than planned.

I am Quiaqueña is the musing of a young woman born in the border between Argentina and Bolivia, and how belonging somewhere is not as easy when geography and politics get in the way.

Having many similarities may not be enough when there is a difference that is considered greater… that is the case of Between Us Two, from Israel.

Our Hood has the Wafalme Crew, a musical group composed of street kids who live in the ghettos of Nairobi, Kenya sing and tell the story of how music changed their lives for the better, teaching them about how to rise up to challenges and keep a positive outlook in life.

A young man writes to his father who has spent his whole life working far away from his home in Exile Song, reminding him that when he wishes to hear the thrushes and see the palm trees… all he has to do is come back home.

In Belong, different immigrants in Finland discuss their experience in living away from their homelands, and what are the things that make them feel that they belong in their new home.

You can see the other winning videos on the Plural + Youth Video Award Page.

Macedonia: Euphoria After Basketball Victory Over Greece

Filip Stojanovski — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:44:39 +0000

Celebrations erupted among Macedonians worldwide after the national team beat Greece at the European Basketball Championship of 2011 - EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania - the first such victory ever in the history of international sport.

The victory for the Macedonian national team with 72:58 at EuroBasket 2011 was a big surprise, since the Greek national team “is considered among the world's top basketball powers; they were runners-up in the 2006 FIBA World Championship and they have won the European Championship twice, in 1987 and 2005,” according to Wikipedia.

Soon after the game ended early Satuday evening, the jubilant flag-waving fans filled the public spaces of Macedonian cities and towns. Sport!Denes (Sport!Today) published a photo gallery [mk] from the main square in Skopje.

A Croatian media outlet 24 sata (24 hours) reported [hr] immediately after the match:

The story of the day is the Macedonian win over their southern neighbors, whose [political pressure] forces them to use the designation “Former Yugoslav Republic of” in front of their name. Even though the players do not want to talk politics, they claim this is the dearest victory of their careers.

- “It's crazy now in Skopje and the whole Macedonia, everybody goes to the main square to celebrate this” - Todor Gečevski said, while Pero Antić added:

- “We shall celebrate Independence Day on September 8, and they might build another monument for us on account of this.”

The best player of the game for Macedonia was African-American Bo McCalleb. Specialized basketball blog NBA Macedonia declared [mk] that he's “The Greatest Macedonian.” *

A screenshot from MakNBA blog featuring Bo McCalleb.

Twitter (the main hashtag: #makbasket) and Facebook buzzed with comments. Many Macedonian social media users expressed joy with dignity, while others used triumphant nationalist “in your face, Greece” rhetoric.

Right after the game, Azder wrote [mk]:

#makbasket should be celebrated with going to a town square. Please suggest a square with space for people, instead of statues.

Davorvori9, who changed his profile photo to one with Bo McCalleb, wrote [mk] a few hours later:

I can't remember when I was so euphoric and happy, possibly never. Thank you for this, guys! #makbasket

Roberto Belicanec wrote on Facebook (reprinted with permission):

YEAAH ! We won! Hm - let me explain something to you. Five athletes won over five other athletes while you where turning beer into the piss. - Bill Maher!
But still, this is quite nice :)

And Ivica Anteski retorted (also reprinted with permission):

Our diplomacy will be as strong when we take a Black person for Minister of Foreign Affairs :)

Cchevymk proposed [mk] a new basketball-inspired country car sticker, using [mk] clipart by Rosie Piter, and DzikiKikiriki refered [mk] to the first Greek reactions, linking to an article in E Kathimerini:

Well now it is not our fault that the Greek Government did not have money to send Greek fans to Lithuania…

Border blockade

The next morning, a group of several dozens angry Greek citizens, who allegedly came on several buses, blocked the main border pass towards Macedonia. Reports [mk] by PlusInfo.mk portal claimed the mob consisted of nationalists (according to the signs they displayed), including neo-Nazis or skinheads.

The Greek police redirected Macedonian travelers to other border crossings for a few hours to prevent confrontations, and the crossing was unblocked [mk] without additional incidents.

Victory over Finland, too

During the afternoon, Macedonia also won the game with Finland, and darko_avr refered to an old internet joke based on famous advertisement (”Nokia - Connecting People”) and a favorite Balkan spirit when he tweeted:

Rakia 72 - Nokia 70

Karakash_MakNBA commented [mk] on this much harder won game:

Either due to fatigue, or due to physical or emotional effect of yesterday's victory, or maybe due to getting wasted last night (who knows), the Macedonian team had a hard time with Finland. Even though they are not as weak and naive a team, as everybody thought so before the match. Especially if they start a good shooting series, they are no joke.

Teams that are hard to define and and play fast basketball, without much boloney, are the hardest opponents.

As both Greece and Finland are EU members, Parmakovski joked [mk]:

After today's blockade of [Evzoni], I'm afraid if we win the championship, EU could forever block us from the [Schengen Area]…

This victory, alongside the previous unexpected win over Croatia and continued good showings could result in participation at least in the quarter-finals, according to the analysеs (1, 2) [mk] by angelov480048.

Kuzevski also provided [mk] some applied analysis:

Let's all jointly support Greece and Croatia, since if they win their next games Macedonia would get 4 points in the next group…

Sead93 concured [mk]:

We survived the Hangover Game well enough, we should all most patriotically root for Greece (because it suits our score in the tournament)…

In conclusion MarjanIvanovski informed [mk] about a unquestionably positive consequence, regardless of nationality:

The neighborhood kids immediately gathered to play some basketball :)). There's no better advertisement and greater motivation than an achieved result…

* Note:

Success of multi-ethnic Macedonian national team runs contrary to the ideology of ethnic nationalism, and the irony seems lost on the Macedonian nationalists, who wholeheartedly partake in the celebrations. Like their other Balkans brothers-in-hate, they often use slogans such as “clean Macedonia,” and value “purity” of assumed genetic lineages. Even though the mainstream Macedonian nationalism is not explicitly racist in the color-of-skin sort of way, some of its propagators lean toward white supremacy, like in the film about God's message to Macedonians [mk] by Niche Dimovski, repeatedly aired on the state TV after the current regime took power. It includes claims that prehistoric Macedonians are progenitors of the “White Race”:

[Voice of God:] “I inhabited your Mother Earth with three races: the White - Makedonoids, the Yellow - Mongoloids, and the Black - Negrids. The rest are all mulattoes. I started the White race from you, the Macedonians, descendants of Macedon, and from you all began, till the Japanese Sea.”

Other nationalist products often refer to a genetics study about “Sub-Saharan” (i.e. recent African) origins of modern Greeks to “prove” that Macedonians are older and more indigenous people.

Still, examples of racial violence have been rare in the recent Macedonian history, possibly because not too many dark-skinned people immigrate to Macedonia on account of its depressed economy. There have been football incidents of racial abuse, though, and a chant mentions “Goce's race.” Most regular citizens would say [mk] that “there's no racism in Macedonia.”

Slovenia: New Twists in Arms Bribery Affaire

Vilhelm Konnander — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 20:35:41 +0000

Sleeping With Pengovsky posts an update about new developments in Slovenia's scandal over bribery in the Patria affaire concerning purchase of Armoured Personnel Carriers from a Finnish company.

Africa: Helsinki Africa Film Festival

Ndesanjo Macha — Sat, 14 May 2011 10:38:53 +0000

Wanjiku wa Ngugi, the founder of the Helsinki African Film Festival talks to Beti Ellerson about the representation of Africa in Finland and this year’s theme “Women’s Voices and Visions”

Video: It Gets Better for Queer Youth

Juliana Rincón Parra — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:56:43 +0000

The It Gets Better Project was started by Dan Savage as a way of preventing gay teens from committing suicide through videos explaining what gay adult life could be: lots better. And from different corners of the world, other people are also sharing their stories.

Dave talks about growing up to a family of religious missionaries in Israel, how he even came to think that exorcism would be a solution to his problems and about his efforts to try and make sense of his faith in regards to his sexual orientation.

From Finland, a group of people share their experiences growing up queer. The video was presented in the TedXHelsinki conference. It is subtitled in Swedish and English:

Bashar Makhay speaks about the process of accepting his identity as a middle eastern gay man, or as he calls himself, a “Gay Chaldean Iraqi American Christian Progressive Man”. Video has English subtitles if you press the cc button:

A gay Muslim youth speaks about growing up in a very religious Shi'a Muslim Pakistani household: how he dealt with harassment, his religious beliefs and his family's take on his his sexuality:

From the Spanish speaking community there are several videos found under the title “Todo va a Mejorar”. One such video was uploaded by
Constantino from Guatemala who currently lives in New York City. He speaks about growing up in a chauvinistic society, his doubts and how just hanging on and following your dreams can go a long way: He is currently living his dream.

As a first generation immigrant from Greece, greekcub tells of the importance of being true to yourself, despite the traditional cultural norms that may seem incompatible with happiness, and at the end, he records a special message for any queer Greek teens going through rough times:

And finally, Kelly Kim explains in ASL how it was for him to grow up being picked on for being deaf and being bullied, afraid for his Korean family's reaction to his sexual identity until he finally decided to come out of the closet. The video is captioned in English:

There are many more videos both on the It Gets Better Project website as well as on YouTube. And hopefully, any teen being bullied because they are different will be able to find support and inspiration in these videos and stories.

Europe: Multilingualism Video Contest

Juliana Rincón Parra — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:20:58 +0000

Polyglot logo

If you live in Europe, are between 18 and 35 years of age and can speak more than one language, then send in a short on multilingualism to an online video contest to win a place aboard an itinerant film making event which will travel and take place in the archipelago of Turku, Finland.

Eighteen winners will have the opportunity to participate in POLYGLOT - on the way to Turku, an all-expenses-paid 2-week “Cine-Boat” itinerant film making workshop taking place on June 2011 in Turku and the Åland Islands of Finland.

This activity is organized by NISI MASA and on the contest website they explain the two types of entry videos they expect to receive before the submission deadline on December 15th 2010:

Video Portraits (Documentaries on My multilingualism) - Do you speak different languages on a regular basis? Describe the linguistic environment you live in, and how it affects you personally.

Video Poems (Fictions on The language I dream in) - Use the audiovisual medium to its full artistic potential. Share with us your most original and creative ideas about language.

Contestants must be resident in a European country (EU or non-EU) and aged 18-35. Works of maximum 5 minutes length, produced since 1st January 2008 are eligible.

Winning videos will be shown during the festival as the city of Turku celebrates being the European Capital of Culture. Afterwards, the shorts will be compiled into a DVD and shown through Europe in follow-up screenings.

All video entries are being uploaded on the Vimeo group for the contest so far there are three: Bubble Affair, Endless Cry and The Whistle, which follows.

Baltics: Any need for Baltic Sea cooperation

Vilhelm Konnander — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 15:14:32 +0000

Litauen writes about [GER] the Council of the Baltic Sea states and how this organization is becoming increasingly superfluous as basis for Baltic Sea cooperation.

Finland: The Language Issue

Veronica Khokhlova — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:07:33 +0000

Nordic Voices writes about Finland's “language issue.”

The Baltics: Deportations of 1941 and 1949

Veronica Khokhlova — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:43:41 +0000

Eric Dickens guest-blogs at A Step At A Time about the Baltic deportations of 1941 and 1949.

Europe: Entropa

Veronica Khokhlova — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:06:39 +0000

Belatedly, links to some posts on Entropa: Margarete of The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia believes “it should be taken down”; Kosmopolito thinks that “the debate around the project is also part of the installation”; BBC's Mark Mardell writes that “the fact that it is a hoax does not mean that the art itself is bad”; Blue, Black and White Alert doesn't think Entropa is “that incendiary”; A Fistful of Euros considers Entropa “an ugly but really funny piece of work.”